In a Box Beneath My Bed
by catlover5040
Summary: Letters are amazing things. Our favorite characters have probably written thousands in their lifetimes. The question is, which ones got sent? This is a collection of oneshots- letters that Shawn, Gus, Henry, Carlton, Juliet, or Karen(and possibly other characters) wrote and never sent. Some of them will make you cry, some will make you laugh, some will do both at the same time.
1. Chapter 1

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Psych. The title is part of a line from Taylor Swift's song "Tim McGraw". I do not own that song. Writing prompts will be used from stories/20058265/writing-fanfiction-a-big-list-of-writing-prompts_**

**_This letter is from Juliet to Shawn, taking place in Season 7._**

* * *

**_Tim McGraw, by Taylor Swift_**

_September saw a month of tears  
And thankin' God that you weren't here  
To see me like that_

_But in a box beneath my bed_  
_Is a letter that you never read_  
_Three summers back_

* * *

_When I'm on the edge of insanity, I hope you'd come to save me._

_What are some of the things that put me on the edge of insanity? Let's make a list._

_Carlton comes to mind. As close as we are, he really drives me crazy sometimes. I'm not sure why that is. _

_What else? Pineapples. Definitely pineapples. I'm sorry, Shawn, but I hate them, and that's probably because you're always bringing them along and I'm pretty much sick of that stupid fruit. _

_And trust me, there are plenty of other things. The color brown, bad hair days, out-of-tune pianos and guitars, flat tires, hangnails, broken paperclips, Carlton, when my gun doesn't work, Carlton, library fines, Carlton... _

_Need I go on? But like I said, I hope you'd come to save me. I really do. _

_I hope you'll always come to save me._

_No, I don't hope. I know._

_Two years ago, when I was trying to write my statement after the third round of the Yin Yang murders, you came in. You offered to take me out for pancakes, and your immature but surely well-intended humor almost made me laugh in spite of myself. When you saw that something was wrong, you sat down next to me. You asked me what was wrong. When I told you, you didn't laugh. You took me seriously and listened to my words. _

_You promised to protect me. I promised to protect you._

_And then... the most magical thing happened. You kissed me. I know that had happened before, but this... this was different. It was magical, like I said. It was enchanting, captivating, unbelievable and believable at exactly the same time. _

_Ever since then, I have known there is something special between the two of us. After that, it was no longer the sweet flirtatiousness of our previous relationship. You made a promise, and you remembered it, however subconsciously, and ever since you've been living up to it. You've protected me from killers, you've protected me from car crashes, you've protected me from harsh words and everything else you possibly could. You've even protected me from myself._

_The only thing you can't protect me from is you. _

_And I don't mean that in a derogatory way, and definitely not in an inappropriate way. Now that I think about it, I don't know _what _I mean. _

_But what does anything mean anymore, really?_

_After that magical moment not so long ago, things are no longer what they seem. Some things have new meanings. Some things have no meaning anymore. Nothing makes sense, and all I know is that whenever I'm around you I have this wonderful, calming sensation that my day is suddenly going to get a lot better._

_Carlton doesn't approve of us. I know that all too well, and I guess that's part of the reason he drives me crazy. I think he's jealous. Or at least he was. Now he's got Marlowe and he's happy, and I'm so glad that he finally has someone. _

_At first, I thought I was in love with _him. _Now that I look back on it, I have no idea why. We're so different, and any feelings I have towards him now are entirely platonic. I love him like a brother. He loves me like a sister. I hope you know that._

_Promise me this, Shawn. Promise me that whatever either of us does, you'll always stay with me. You'll never abandon me. You'll stay by my side forever and ever and ever. _

_If you can make this promise, I will return it to you._

_With armfuls of inexplicable love,_

_Juliet_


	2. Chapter 2

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Psych. The title is part of a line from Taylor Swift's song "Tim McGraw". I do not own that song. Writing prompts will be used from stories/20058265/writing-fanfiction-a-big-list-of-writing-prompts_**

**_This letter is from Lassiter to Juliet, taking place in 4x16, "Mr. Yin Presents". Spoilers for that episode.  
_**

* * *

**_Tim McGraw, by Taylor Swift_**

_September saw a month of tears  
And thankin' God that you weren't here  
To see me like that_

_But in a box beneath my bed_  
_Is a letter that you never read_  
_Three summers back_

* * *

_Hold on. I'm coming for you, no matter what it takes._

_Don't think for a second that I'm going to let you die. You're too important to me. You have too much to do in this world. You matter too much. Your enthusiasm keeps me going every day. You keep everyone going. You have great ideas and you're good at everything and you're as close to perfect as is humanly possible._

_Me, I'm just the old, uptight detective._

_I'm sitting in the Chief's office right now, writing this letter. I'm not sure why, because I can't send it to you. Heaven knows where you are. If I knew, I sure wouldn't waste time sending you a stupid letter. I would come and rescue you and carry you home, and tell you that everything's going to be okay._

_And that's exactly what I intend to do. Don't think for a second that I'm not going to move heaven and earth to find you, because I will. If you're out there, I'm going to find you. _

_When I met you four years ago, you changed my life. You changed _me. _You made me realize that there's more important things than laws and protocol and skills and exam scores. You made me realize that love is more important than throwing low-life criminal scum into the holding cells every other second. You're the only person who was able to make me realize that, and now you've changed my life for the better. _

_You're not always perfect. No-one is. I've seen you lose your temper a couple times, most often at me. I've seen you make big mistakes. You can be impatient and irritating and a little naive. I hate being mad at you, I hate it when you fail, I hate it when you embarrass yourself and sometimes me._

_But worst of all is when I see you cry. It's kind of like watching someone kill a butterfly, or watching someone crush a beautiful flower. That's you. You're my butterfly. Every time I've seen you cry I've had a desire to make it stop, to stop the pain. That's what I'm going to do._

_You're a very special person, O'Hara. You're too special to die now. Hang on. _

_You're my best friend. My only friend. That's the way it's always going to be. I care about you probably a lot more than you can imagine. But I pretend not to care- I hide all of the pictures of us whenever you come to my house, I don't tell you that you look pretty when it's true, I don't talk to you as often as I should. That's probably the biggest mistake I've ever made. You could die right now and not know how much I care._

_I guess it's because I'm afraid to lose you. I was in a relationship with my last partner, Lucinda, and she got transferred when we were found out. I know we're just friends, but people might get the wrong idea and one of us could get transferred. I can't have that. _

_But now that I could lose you at the hands of Yin, there's no point in keeping it a secret anymore._

_Maybe I'll show this letter to you if- no, _when _-I rescue you. Maybe I'll show this to you in a week, a year, maybe ten years. Maybe I'll never show it to you. All I know is, when I rescue you you are going to know _exactly _how much I care. I will never hold back again. If you get through this alive- which you will, I promise -I will never let you get hurt again. I will always protect you, I will always stay by your side, I will make sure you get through life unscathed. _

_So hold on._

_It's too soon for you to go._

_Carlton_


	3. Chapter 3

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Psych. The title is part of a line from Taylor Swift's song "Tim McGraw". I do not own that song. Writing prompts will be used from stories/20058265/writing-fanfiction-a-big-list-of-writing-prompts_**

**_This letter is from Juliet to Lassiter, taking place in Season 7.  
_**

* * *

**_Tim McGraw, by Taylor Swift_**

_September saw a month of tears  
And thankin' God that you weren't here  
To see me like that_

_But in a box beneath my bed_  
_Is a letter that you never read_  
_Three summers back_

* * *

_I used to trust you, but now all I see when I look at you is a backstab waiting to happen._

_You didn't approve of me and Shawn at first, and I respected that. But now, it's just gotten out of hand. The dirty looks, the snide comments... _

_It hurts, Carlton. I know you think you're insulting him and not me, but it hurts me too. It's like you're saying I have bad judgment. It's like you're saying you don't want me to be happy._

_If you were jealous of Shawn, if you loved me as more than a friend and wanted me to be happy with you, I could live with that. I'm not saying that's what I want, but it would be better than the present situation. You just don't _like _him. You don't approve of his unorthodox methods, you can't live with the fact that he's as good a detective as you are and he didn't even have to do half the work. It's like you don't want me to be happy anymore. That's very selfish._

_I like you a lot, I really do, but you can't expect me to work with you when you're always trying to get me to date different guys, when you're threatening my boyfriend at every turn, when you make a convulsive movement every time he kisses me. I know you care about me, but you can't protect me from everything, especially not things that I don't need to be protected from. I know you don't want to see me get hurt, you've told me that only a thousand times. I know you don't think he's good enough for me, but I love him and that's what matters._

_At least, that's what _should _matter. _

_It doesn't matter to _you.

_Not one little bit. _

_What matters to you is that _you're _happy with _my _life. Really, Carlton, it's _my _life! You're not my father. You've played that role for me ever since I transferred, and I've really appreciated that, but like I said before, it's getting out of hand. You're dictating my every move, acting like I don't deserve to be happy._

_I know that's not true. I know you love me and I know you want me to be happy. But Carlton, it doesn't feel that way. It's degrading and discouraging, and I don't like it. I don't even feel like we're friends anymore. I just feel like you're waiting for a chance to betray me. It's like you're trying to flaunt your power, trying to break me down and make me feel insecure since you don't feel good about yourself. That's really immature and I don't appreciate it._

_Please, please, please help me find a solution to this problem. I don't like fighting with you. I don't like not talking to you. Despite our differences and despite this argument, I know that deep down inside you care about me more than you care about me not dating Shawn. I know that you're a great person and you don't mean to be unreasonable. _

_It just feels like it._

_Sincerely...no._

_Best wishes... no.  
_

_Take care... no.  
_

_ Love... yes, that's the word.  
_

_LOVE,_

_Juliet_


	4. Chapter 4

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Psych. The title is part of a line from Taylor Swift's song "Tim McGraw". I do not own that song. Writing prompts will be used from stories/20058265/writing-fanfiction-a-big-list-of-writing-prompts_**

**_This letter is from Shawn to Juliet, taking place in Season 7. Spoilers for various episodes._**

* * *

**_Tim McGraw, by Taylor Swift_**

_September saw a month of tears  
And thankin' God that you weren't here  
To see me like that_

_But in a box beneath my bed_  
_Is a letter that you never read_  
_Three summers back_

* * *

_On the run with no-one to love. That was me before you came along. _

_When I saw you in that diner, though, I knew that something was about to start. I didn't know what, and I didn't know if it was good or bad. All I knew was that it was about to start, like I said._

_I sat down next to you. We started talking. In my mind, you were playing hard-to-get, when really you were just nervous about one of your first cases as a detective and annoyed that this "diner guy" was talking to you and making you sound like a thirteen-year-old. To be honest, you dressed like a thirteen-year-old back then, but that's a compliment. _

_We went back and forth, back and forth. I said something funny and you, you just couldn't help yourself. You smiled._

_That first smile was something I swore I'd never forget._

_And now, seven years later, look where we are. So much has happened. That first year we worked together, and you were exasperated with me more often than not. I came into the station; you gave me cases no matter how reluctant your partner was to let me in on the investigation. Near the end, I almost lost you to that lunatic Alice Bundy. When I came in and saw you holding that axe, I was blown away. I immediately thought, _She's so much cooler than any other girl I've ever met.

_The second year, you followed along with my seemingly immature antics, except maybe the time I thought a dinosaur was guilty(which it was, by the way). I fake- proposed to you and we went undercover. I know that was all fake, but when I got down on my knee, I swear that was the most pleasant feeling I've ever had. Maybe it shouldn't have been fake._

_Come year number three, we've gotten up to all sorts of shenanigans. You helped me find Bouchard's treasure(more or less), we went on a couples skate(my own brilliant idea), we saved my best friend from a hostage situation, we helped Lassie escape jail, you watched me lead a football team to victory, and... you asked me out on a date. Finally. You know, I had been waiting for that moment forever, but it was just like I told you- bad timing._

_By the next year, we're making history. I took you to "probably _the _most romantic place on earth", you nearly killed me with that stupid note you put on my water bottle(I know you had good intentions), you got fake-engaged to a guy who thought he was cursed(I'll admit I was jealous), you worked with Gus, Lassie, and my dad to save me when I was kidnapped; I got your brother thrown in jail(sorry), I reunited you with your college boyfriend and saved his life, I almost lost you once to the Thornburg virus and again to Mr. Yin. Lassie and Gus saved you right on time and I'll be eternally grateful to them. _

_It's like we blinked, and suddenly it had been five years. You were still suffering from the aftermath of the Yin Yang murders, and you... you dyed your hair. You always looked beautiful, and you still do, but I just have to say you looked a lot better before you dyed your hair. I think you were trying to change yourself, right? You were still feeling terrified and vulnerable from what had happened, and you didn't want to be the same girl who had been cruelly kidnapped and hung off a clocktower. You didn't want to be the girl who was so easily damaged, even though you aren't. You're one of the strongest people I know, and growing up with Henry Spencer, that's really saying something. A few weeks later, we were partners for one case, and I still say it was fun(but what was even better was seeing Lassie tap dance). You met that stupid- I mean, wonderful Declan Rand and he lent me his helicopter and we caught a couple of bad guys. Then he tried to take you to Italy, but you followed your heart and went to Canada instead(for a case). Then, after a few misunderstandings, we "officially" started dating (don't worry, we'll never kiss for that long again). After that, I almost died in a burning building; you sent me to the Police Academy and locked me in the back of your car, and then Yin resurfaced. After he was killed, I found you in the interrogation room, trying to write your statement and then that's when it _really _started. We promised to protect each other and since then I've been doing my best to live up to that promise. _

_So after that, we had reached six. Six wonderful years. A lot happened that year. Lassie threatened to shoot me, we thought about moving in together but decided it was a bad idea, we got Lassie's new girlfriend arrested, and I went undercover in an asylum (sorry, "mental health facility") and you tried to stop me. What else? I tried to reunite you with your father and eventually succeeded, we went on a very romantic vacation and ended up pursuing a killer in a hot air balloon(best vacation EVER), and I went undercover on a reality dating show and _somebody _got a little jealous._

_Now it's year seven, but just barely. After my dad was shot, you tried to convince me against going after the killer, but you were somewhat understanding when I defied you and ended up saving my life(twice). Then you went undercover on a dating site and got your revenge with that Mike jerk. _

_This seventh year has just barely started, and I don't know what's going to come next, but whatever it is it's gonna be okay. I love you and I'll be with you the whole time._

_Big, fat kisses,_

_Shawn_


End file.
